Notation
Note: The tunes below are recorded in what
is called “abc notation.” They
can easily be converted to standard musical notation via highlighting with
your cursor starting at “X:1” through to the end of the abc’s, then
“cutting-and-pasting” the highlighted notation into one of the many abc
conversion programs available, or at concertina.net’s incredibly handy “ABC
Convert-A-Matic” at

**Please note that the abc’s in the Fiddler’s Companion
work fine in most abc conversion programs. For example, I use abc2win and
abcNavigator 2 with no problems whatsoever with direct cut-and-pasting.
However, due to an anomaly of the html, pasting the abc’s into the
concertina.net converter results in double-spacing. For concertina.net’s
conversion program to work you must remove the spaces between all the lines
of abc notation, so that they are single-spaced, with no intervening blank
lines. This being done, the F/C abc’s will convert to standard notation
nicely. Or, get a copy of abcNavigator 2 – its well worth it.[AK]

STÁCA AN mHARGAIDH (The Market Lounger).AKA –
“Stáca ‘n Mhargaidh.” Irish, Air (3/4 time, “Moderately slow”). A Major.
Standard tuning. AB. The title appears in a list of tunes in his repertoire
brought by Philip Goodman, the last professional and traditional piper in
Farney, Louth, to the Feis Ceoil in Belfast
in 1898 (Breathnach, 1997). Source for
notated version: a manuscript collection dated 1861 compiled by James Goodman,
a Church of Ireland
cleric who collected primarily in CountyCork [Shields]. Shields (Tunes of
the Munster Pipers), 1998;
No. 26, pg. 14.

STACKED ‘EM UP IN
PILES. Old-time, Song & Breakdown.
From the playing of West Virginia
fiddler Melvin Wine (b. 1909), who supposedly fashioned the tune from a
Revolutionary War song. West Virginia
musician and academic Gerry Milnes believes that it is connected with the Civil
War and not an earlier conflict. Wine sings only this chorus:

***

We run 'em nine miles and we stacked 'em up in piles,

Besides what got drownded in the river.

***

One verse only for the song,
collected in West Virginia,
appears in Cox’s Folk Songs of the South
where it is listed as "The War Song". Laws, in Native American Balladry, only mentions Cox's collected version,
from which Milnes deduces it is a rare piece, given the thoroughness with which
Laws investigated. Augusta Heritage Records AHR 014,
Melvin Wine – “Folk Music and Lore of the Civil War.” Jimmy Tripplet – “Helena’s
Green are the Woods” (learned from Melvin Wine). Jack Krack & Doug Van
Gundy – “Two Far Gone.”

STACK(S) OF BARLEY, THE. AKA and see "Evening was Waning," "Little Mary Cassidy," “The Little Stack of Barley [1],”
"Patrick Condon's Vision.”
Irish, Hornpipe or Barn Dance; Canadian, Reel. Canada,
Prince Edward Island. E Minor
('A' part) & G Major ('B' part). Standard tuning. AABB.There is a special couple dance to this tune
(played in hornpipe time) in which the partners face each other and use the
‘barrel’ hold. It is sometimes customary to dance the Stack of Barley after the
ceili dance The Siege of Ennis. Two hornpipes are played as an accompaniment
with the first being “The Stack of Barley,” considered the signature tune for
the dance. Accordion player Joe Burke (b. 1939), originally from
Coorhoor, above Loughrea in County Galway, remembers playing with the Leitrim
(parish) Céilí Band for set dancers in the 1950’s at Irish dance venues in
London, and was impressed by the “thousands of people” who danced the sets and
old-time waltzes at the halls.Later he
played gigs in New York, Chicago
and Boston, playing on a circuit
for Bill Fuller’s dance halls along with piano player Felix Dolan and fiddler
Paddy Killoran. They dressed formally and had a fifteen minute spot between the
Fintan Ward Band’s sets, giving them time to play “The Seige of Ennis,” “Stack of Barley”
and an old-time waltz (Vallely & Piggott, Blooming Meadows, 1998). Martin Mulvihill (1986) remarks: “Old Irish dance” and “There are
several versions of this tune. This one I learned from the lilting of my
grandfather.” Source for notated version: Louise Arsenault (b. 1956, Welligton,
East Prince County, Prince Edward
Island) [Perlman]. Allan's
Irish Fiddler, No. 89, pg. 23. Mallinson (Enduring), 1995; No. 79, pg. 33. Messer (Way Down East), 1948; No. 41. Messer (Anthology of Favorite Fiddle Tunes), 1980; No. 61, pg. 36 (appears
as "Stacks of Barley"). Mulvihill (1st Collection), 1986; No. 52, pg. 129. O'Neill
(Krassen), 1976; pg. 180. Perlman (The
Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island),
1996; pg. 63. Tubridy (Irish Traditional
Music, Book Two), 1999; pg. 11. Columbia 33523F (78 RPM), Michael
Coleman & P.J. Dolan (1927). Edison 51041 (78 RPM),
John H. Kimmel (accordion player from New York City),
1922. Flying Fish FF70572, Frank Ferrel – “Yankee Dreams: Wicked Good Fiddling
from New England” (1991). Leader LEA 2004, Martin Byrnes.
Shanachie 79093, Paddy Glackin and Robbie Hannon – “Whirlwind” (1995). Topic
TSCD606, Michael Coleman & P.J. Dolan et al – “Round the House and Mind the
Dresser: Irish Country-House Dance Music.” WMT002, Wendy MacIsaac – “That’s
What You Get” (1998?).

X:1

T:Stack of Barley, The

M:4/4

L:1/8

R:Hornpipe

K:G

gf|efed BedB|(3ABA AG AcBA|G2 GA BA
(3Bcd|e2A2A2 Bd|

efed BedB|A2 AG AcBA|G2 GA
BdAc|B2G2G2:|

|:GA|BABd g2 fg|agfg edBd|g2 fg ed
(3Bcd|e2A2A2 Bd|

(3efg af g2 ge|dBAG AcBA|GFGA (3Bcd
Ac|B2G2G2:|

STACK OF OATS, THE. AKA and see “Crossroads Ceili.” Irish, Barndance.
Reg Hall (1995) defines an Irish barndance as “a rural variant of the ballroom
schottische…popular in the hey-day of country-house dancing in Ireland…transplanted
successfully in the dance halls and clubs of Irish-America.” Topic TSCD 602, Erin’s Pride
Orchestra – “Irish Dance Music” (1995. A reissue of the original 1948
recording).

STACKOLEE. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA;
West Virginia, Eastern
Kentucky. In the repertoire of the regionally famous fiddler Ed
Haley. It was the only track on the Rounder LP that the late Rector Hicks
thought sounded like Haley at his best, according to Kerry Blech. See also note
for “Stagolee.” Rounder
Records, Ed Haley.

STADTHOUDER, LA.French, Country Dance (2/4 time). G Major.
Standard tuning. AABB. From the contradance book (tunes with dance
instructions) of Robert Daubat (who styled himself Robert d’Aubat de
Saint-Flour), born in Saint-Flour, Cantal, France,
in 1714, dying in Gent, Belgium,
in 1782. According to Belgian fiddler Luc De Cat, at the time of the
publication of his collection (1757) Daubat was a dancing master in Gent
and taught at several schools and theaters.He also was the leader of a choir and was a violin player in a theater.
Mr. De Cat identifies a list of subscribers of the original publication,
numbering 132 individuals, of the higher level of society and the nobility, but
also including musicians and dance-masters (including the ballet-master from
the Italian opera in London). Many
of the tunes are written with parts for various instruments, and include a
numbered bass. Daubat (Cent Contredanses
en Rond), 1757; No. 53.

X:1

T:Stadthouder, La

M:2/4

L:1/8

S:Daubat – Cent
Contredanses en Rond (1757), No. 53

Z:AK/Fiddler’s
Companion

K:G

STAESIA DONNELLY’S. Irish, Double Jig. The tune is from the late fiddler Jimmy Power,
originally from Kill in Waterford,
although his spent much time in London.
Staesia Donnelly was his aunt. Piping Pig Records
PPPCD 001, Jimmy O’Brien- Moran – “Seán Reid’s Favourite” (1996. Learned from
piper John Murphy).

STAGE
HORNPIPE [1], THE. AKA and see “Kielder Jock’s,” "The Merrymaker's Club,” “The Norfolk Hornpipe" [2],” “The Omnibus.” Irish, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard
tuning. AABB. The melody was composed as “The Omnibus” by the 19th
century Tyneside fiddler-composer James Hill, famous for his hornpipe
compositions. “The Stage” was published in the Newcastle Courant in 1882. Stage hornpipes were danced on stage for
some one hundred and fifty years, although their heydey was in the latter half
of the 18th century when several performers made their reputations
dancing various hornpipes. They were still regularly performed between acts in
plays as late as 1840 or 1850 (Kidson). A distanced version of Hill’s “Stage
Hornpipe” tune was recorded in New York
1927 by the renowned CountySligo
fiddler Michael Coleman (1891-1945), paired with “The Western Hornpipe.”
Coleman was an accomplished step dancer as well as a master fiddler and
actually danced a stage hornpipe in the 1920’s while simultaneously playing the
instrument, when he was hired as an entertainer on a tour of Keith’s Theaters.
Influential Cape Breton fiddler Angus Chisholm learned the tune from Coleman’s
recording, and it has been recorded by Johnny Wilmot, John Campbell, and others
in the island’s tradition. Source for notated version: Michael Coleman [Miller
& Perron]. Bulmer & Sharpley (Music
from Ireland),
vol. 2, No. 49. Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000;
No. 204, pg. 76. McGuire & Keegan (Irish Tunes by the 100, vol. 1), 1975; No. 85, pg. 21. Miller & Perron (Irish Traditional Fiddle Music), 1977;
vol. 2, No. 37. Miller & Perron (Irish
Traditional Fiddle Music), 2nd Edition, 2006; pg. 123 (two
versions). Mulvihill (1st
Collection), 1986; No. 19, pg. 93. O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 216. Gael-Linn CEF 153, Paddy Glackin – “In Full Spate” (1991).
Gael-Linn Records CEF 161“Michael Coleman 1891-1945” (1992. Reissue of 1927
recording). IRC Records, "Musical Glory of Old Sligo."
Shanachie 34014, James Kelly, Paddy O’Brien, Daithi Sproule – “Traditional
Music of Ireland”
(1981).

STAGE
HORNPIPE [3], A. AKA and see “Pet of the House.” Irish, Hornpipe. A
Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody was printed by O’Neill as “Pet of the
House,” set in the key of ‘G’. Source for notated version: the Rice-Walsh
manuscript, a collection of music from the repertoire of Jeremiah Breen, a
blind fiddler from North Kerry, notated by his student [O’Neill]. O’Neill (Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody),
1922; no. 327.

STAGOLEE. Old‑Time, Blues
Tune. The blues ballad about Stagolee (or Stackerlee) and his fight with Billy
Lyons has been a blues classic for generations and can be found in most volumes
of American folksongs. There actually was such a person, finds George M.
Eberhart (in an article entitled "Stack Lee: The Man, the Music, and the
Myth, in the journel Popular Music and Society,
Spring, 1997), one Stack Lee Shelton who murdered William “Willie” Lyons on
Christmas Day, 1895, in a saloon on 11th & Morgan (now Delmar)
in (east) St. Louis. Lyons and Shelton
were actually friends but an argument arose between them, some say over a
dispute about hats. The result was that Shelton
shot and killed Lyons, who now rests in an unmarked grave in Saint Peter’s
Cemetery, St. Louis.

STAINES
MORRIS. English, Air and Country Dance Tune
(4/4 or 6/4 time). E Minor (Bacon, Raven): D Minor (Williamson): D Dorian
(Chappell): G Dorian (Barnes, Sharp). Standard tuning. ABC (Sharp): AABCC
(Raven): AABB (Barnes, Chappell).The
tune first appears in the William Ballet
Lute Book (1595), and was printed in "much altered" form in
Playford's Dancing Master of 1650‑51.
There is a town of Staines on the Thames River, but no one seems to know if it
has anything to do with the title or not. The tune was used for a morris dance
of the same name in the Cotswold village
of Longborough, Gloucestershire.
Bacon (The Morris Ring), 1974; pg.
255. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes),
1986. Chappell (Popular Music of the
Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; pg. 243. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; pg. 34 & 46. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909/1994; pg.
25.Williamson (English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1976; pg. 17. Carthage CGLP 4406, Hutchings et al - "Morris On"
(1972/1983). Maggie’s Music MMCD216, Hesperus - “Early American Roots” (1997).

STANDARD CLUB QUADRILLE NO. 1. There is some resemblance of the second figure
of this tune with Bayard's Pennsylvania
collected "Allegheny County."
Henry Ford, Mr. & Mrs. ("Good
Morning." Old Time Dancing Music, Calls And Directions), 1941; pg. 10.

STANGATE BRIDGE.English, Country Dance Tune (cut time). G Major. Standard tuning. AABC.
The melody was printed in John Johnson’s Choice Collection of 200 Favourite
Country Dances, vol. 5 (London, 1750). Barnes (English Country Dance
Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 147 (appears as “Yes! I am Mireille’s Daughter”,
the name of a country dance by Fried de Metz Herman set to the tune in 1996).

STANHOPE
i' WEARDALE. AKA and see "A Mile To Ride." English, Slip Jig. England,
Northumberland. G Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears in
Northumbrian musician William Vickers 1770 music manuscript collection.
Stanhope in Weardale is the name of a town in Northumberland in the upper
valley of the River Wear.

STANNERTON HOPPING. AKA and see "A Mile To Ride,"
“Riding a Mile.” English, Slip Jig. England,
Northumberland. F Major. Standard tuning. AABB. See note for “Mile to Ride.”
“Stannerton Hopping” was printed by Northumbrian musician William Vickers in
his music manuscript of 1770 (wherein it also appears as “A Mile to Ride” and
“Stanhope in Weardale”). The title appears in Henry Robson's list of popular
Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"),
which he published c. 1800. In parts of England
a ‘hopping’ refers to the harvesting of hops.

STAR (HORNPIPE) [1], THE (Crannciuil an Realt). Irish, Hornpipe. G Major. Standard
tuning. AABB. Paul de Grae declares the tune a curiosity, and identifies it as
an amalgam of two tunes printed in Ryan’s
Mammoth Collection (1883). “The first part is that of ‘Gray’s Opera House’ while the
second part begins with the second part of “Amazon”
and concludes in the same way as the first part of ‘Gray’s Opera House.’”
O'Neill (Krassen), 1976; pg. 186. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1903/1979; No. 1654, pg. 307. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 875,
pg. 151.

STAR [3], THE. AKA and see “Star at Liwis,” "The
Scheme." English, Jig. G Major
(Moore/Ashman): F Major (Thompson). Standard tuning. AABB. The melody first
appeared in John Johnson’s Choice Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances,
vol. 3 (London, 1744), followed by appearances in David Rutherford’s Compleat
Collection of 200 of the Most Celebrated Country Dances (London, 1756), and
Charles and Samuel Thompson’s 1757 country dance collection. In America, it was
printed by Exeter, New Hampshire, publishers Norris and Sawyer in their volume Village
Fifer (1808), and in Alvan Robinson’s Massachusetts Collection of
Martial Music (Hallowell, Maine, 1818). Northumbrian musician William
Vickers included it in his 1770 manuscript under the title "The Scheme," with “The Star” as an alternate
title, and Cheapside, London, musician Walter Rainstorp penned it into his
copybook, begun in 1747. While it may have no connection with the title of the
jig, The Star was a notorious London brothel in the Strand, kept by Peter Wood.
Source for notated version: a c. 1837-1840 MS by Shropshire
musician John Moore [Ashman]. Ashman (The
Ironbridge Hornpipe), 1991; No. 93b, pg. 38. Thompson (Compleat
Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1), 1757; No. 182.

STAR ABOVE THE GARTER, THE. Irish, Slide (12/8 time). Ireland, Kerry. G
Major/D Mixolydian ('A' part) & D Mixolydian ('B' part). Standard tuning.
AABB. No relation to Mac Amhlaoibh’s “The Star Above.” The Star and Garter is
an English chivalric order whose origins are ancient. The story goes that at a Ball possibly held at Calais, Joan
Countess of Salisbury dropped her garter and King Edward (III) seeing her
embarrassment picked it up and bound it about his own leg saying in French,
‘Evil, (or shamed) be he that that thinks evil of it' this is almost
certainly a later fiction. There are those that believe this to be a fable,
perhaps perpetrated by the French to bring discredit, but the origins are
rather obscure. The regalia of the order includes a ‘garter’ that is a
necklace, while the star is a medal to be worn on the chest. As a famous symbol of upper-class
station, the name was transferred to items and situations that had pretensions
to status. For example, the Star and Garter is also the name of a famous
English Hotel at Richmond, whose
hey-day was the early 19th century. Still, there are no specific
references in the order to a star above a garter, and what was
originally meant by the title (or why it was applied to an Irish tune) is not
known.It has been suggested the title
is a sexual entendre. The tune was popularized by Kerry fiddlers (and siblings)
Dennis Murphy (1910-1974) and Julia
Clifford (1914-1997), both pupils of the influential Sliabh Luachra fiddle
teacher Pádraig O’Keeffe (1887-1963). Sources for notated versions: fiddler
Dennis Murphy and Julia Clifford (Sliabh Luachra region, Co. Kerry)
[Mulvihill]; Paddy Ryan [Bulmer & Sharpley]. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 264. Bulmer & Sharpley, vol. 2,
No. 59. Mallinson (Enduring), 1995;
No. 67, pg. 28. Mulvihill (1st
Collection), 1986; No. 7, pg. 116. Songer (Portland Collection),
1997; pg. 190. Sullivan (Session Tunes),
Vol. 3; No. 22, pg. 8. Claddagh CC5, Denis Murphy
& Julia Clifford – “The Star Above the Garter” (originally recorded 1969). Claddagh
CC14, Chieftains‑ "Chieftains 4.” Ossian OSS CD 130, Sliabh Notes –
“Along Blackwater’s Banks” (2002). Pied Piper PPP301, Chulrua – “Barefoot on
the Altar.” Shanachie 79024, "Chieftains 4" (1972/1983). Denis Murphy
(with Johnny O’Leary) – “The Star Above the Garter” (a 1949 performance in
Denis’s house, recorded by Seamus Ennis. The pair played the ‘c’ notes
sharpened). Tara 1008, John & James Kelly – “Irish Traditional Fiddle
Music” (1973).

STAR HORNPIPE [4], THE. AKA and see "Silver Star Hornpipe," "The Twilight Star." American,
Hornpipe. USA; Michigan,
southwestern Pa. G Major. Standard tuning. AB. The second part of the tune is a
common international strain. Source for notated version: Irvin Yaugher (fiddler
from Fayette County, Pa.,
1944; learned from fiddler John O. Miller, a native of Michigan,
in the 1880's) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to
the Fiddle), 1981; No. 109, pgs. 62‑63.

STAR OF MUNSTER, THE ("An Realt Mumain" or "Realt Na
Muman").
AKA and see “Birds in the Bushes,”
"Bright Star of Munster,"
“The Eight O’Clock Train,” “Kitty’s Wishes,” “Millstone [2],” "Miss Mary Eva Kelly
of “Kitty's Wishes," “Rock of Muff” (?). Irish, Reel. A Dorian (Am).
Standard tuning. AB (Joyce, Kennedy, O'Neill/1850 & 1001): ABB (Allan's):
AA'B (O'Neill/Krassen): AABB (Brody, Mallinson): AABB’ (Songer): AA’BB’ (Harker/Rafferty):
ABB’CDD’ (Mitchell). A star is a euphemism for a beautiful woman. The melody is
at least as old as the latter 19th century, for O’Neill (1913) mentions it as
one of the first reels learned as a boy by Callinafercy, Kilcoleman, County
Kerry fiddler and uilleann piper William F. Hanafin, born in 1875 (who later,
in his adolescence, emigrated to Massachusetts). O’Neill himself learned this
tune from CountyMayo
piper James O’Brien, who visited Chicago
(where O’Neill worked in the police department) in 1876. O’Neill describes him
as “a neat, tasty Irish piper of the Connacht school of close players, and
though his Union pipes were small, they were sweet and musical...One of his
peculiarities—and an unpleasant one, occasionally—was a habit of stopping the
music in order to indulge in conversation. He could not be induced to play a
tune in full, when under the influence of stimulants, as his loquacity was
uncontrollable, and he never hesitated under such conditions to express a
passing sentiment. Amiable and harmless at all times, he died at a
comparatively early age in Chicago, a victim to conviviality, his only
weakness.”The great County Sligo-born
fiddler Michael Coleman (1891-1945) recorded the tune in New
York in April, 1922, released on a 78 RPM for the Vocalion
label (paired with “O’Dowd’s Favourite,”
both played in the unusual key of G Dorian). Another early recording of “Star
of Munster” was by Ballybay, County Monaghan, piper Robert William “Willie”
Clarke (1889-1934) for Columbia Records of London in 1928, for a series of
records entitled “The Pipes of Three Nations” (which included a Highland piper
and a Northumbrian small-piper). The reel has proved quite popular as an
accompaniment for New England contra dances since the
1970's, and is frequently heard today at Irish sessions. Sources for notated
versions: Portumna, Co. Galway; better known as 'Eva',
the writer of national ballads in 'The Nation' newspaper, who seems to have had
as cultivated a taste for Irish music as for literature. She is now Mrs.
Doherty, the widow of the well‑known Dr. Kevin Izod Doherty, and is
living in hale old age in Australia" (Joyce); piper Willie Clancy
(1918-1973, Miltown Malbay, west Clare) [Mitchell]; piper Jimmy O’Brien (County
Mayo) [O’Neill]; New Jersey flute player Mike Rafferty, born in Ballinakill,
Co. Galway, in 1926 [Harker]. Allan's
Irish Fiddler, No. 49, pg. 12. Brody (Fiddler’s
Fakebook), 1983; pg. 265. Giblin (Collection
of Traditional Irish Dance Music), 1928; 21. Harker (300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty), 2005; No. 5, pg. 2. Joyce (Old Irish Folk Music and Songs), 1909;
No. 780, pg. 381. Kennedy (Traditional
Dance Music of Britain
and Ireland:
Reels and Rants), 1997; No. 184, pg. 43. Mallinson (Essential), 1995; No. 44, pg. 19. Mitchell (Dance Music of Willie Clancy), 1993; No. 64, pgs. 66-67. O'Neill
(Krassen), 1976; pg. 99. O'Neill (Music of Ireland: 1850 Melodies),
1903/1979; No. 1218, pg. 230. O'Neill (Dance Music of Ireland:
1001 Gems), 1907/1986; No. 495,
pg. 94. O’Neill (O’Neill’s Irish Music),
1915; No. 238, pg. 126. Peoples (Fifty
Irish Fiddle Tunes), 1986; 10. Roche
Collection, 1982, vol. 1; No. 136, pg. 55. Songer (Portland Collection),
1997; pg. 190. Bellbridge Records, Bobby Casey –
“Casey in the Cowhouse” (1992. Originally recorded 1959). Front Hall 05,
Fennigs All Stars‑ "Saturday Night in the Provinces." Gael‑
Linn 068, Maurice Lennon‑ "An Fihdil." Gael‑Linn 069,
Seamus Creagh‑ "An Fhidil Straith II." Green Linnett 1012,
Martin Mulvihill‑ "Traditional Irish Fiddling From CountyLimmerick." Green Linnet GLCD
1127, “Martin Hayes” (1993). Green Linnet GLCD 3009/Mulligan 021, Kevin Burke‑
"If the Cap Fits" (1978). GTD Heritage Trad. HCD 008, Tommy Peoples -
"Traditional Irish Music Played on the Fiddle." Island ILPS 9501,
"The Chieftains Live" (1977). Larraga Records LR093098, Mike &
Mary Rafferty – “The Old Fireside Music” (1998). Shanachie 29002,
"Kathleen Collins." Shanachie 29008, Frankie Gavin‑
"Traditional Music of Ireland.”
Topic TSCD602, Michale Coleman – “Irish Dance Music” (1995. A reissue of the
1922 original).

STAR OF STRATHMORE. Scottish. The composition of James 'Jamie' Allan of Forfar (1800‑1877).

STAR OF THE COUNTYDOWN.
AKA and see "I Love Nell,” “Mary from Blackwater Side,”
"My Love Nell," “Paddy’s Return [2],” "When a
Man's in Love," “When
first I left old Ireland.” Irish; March (4/4 time), Air or Waltz (3/4
time). A Minor (most versions): E Minor (Silberberg). Standard tuning. AB
(Barnes, Matthiesen, Silberberg): AAB (Brody, Johnson, Phillips). A star, in
Irish vernacular, is a beautiful woman. John Loesberg (1980) says the air
originally was set to the sheet ballad "My Love Nell," but first
appears under the "Star of the CountyDown" title in Hughes' Irish Country Songs, with words written
by Cathal Mac Garvey {1866-1927}. However, this popular air seems to have been
attached to numerous songs over the years. For example, P.W. Joyce (1909)
prints a version of the air under the title “Mary from Blackwater Side” (No.
187), while George Petrie (Stanford/Petrie, 1905) collected it several times: as
an untitled air from favorite source sculptor Patrick MacDowell (No. 196),
“When first I left old Ireland” (No. 863), and “Paddy’s Return” (No. 867). This
tune is identified by Cazden (et al, 1982) as belonging to the protean and huge
'Lazarus' family of tunes, which includes, among numerous others in the
Gaelic/British tradition, the Scottish "Gilderoy,"
Cazden's own Catskill Mountain collected "Banks of the Sweet Dundee,"
and Chappell's English "We Be Poor, Frozen Out Gardeners" as well as
literally hundreds of other airs. Jerome Colburn points out that an American
shape-note variant of the “Star” family appears in the tenor of the hymn “Help
Me to Sing” (attributed to B.F. White) from The Sacred Harp (1859). The tune is also used for two poaching
ballads (one from Scotland,
one from Ireland,
“Van Dieman’s Land”), remembers Sean Laffey, and the forebitter /capstan
shanty "Banks of Newfoundland.” Rock singer Van Morrison performed
a march-time version of the song with the Chieftains on a 1994 recording. CountyDown takes its name from
Downpatrick, where St. Patrick is said to have been buried (Down is a variation
of the Celtic word Dun, meaning a
fortified place). Source for notated version: Fennigs All Stars (New
York) [Brody]. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Brody (Fiddler’s Fakebook), 1983; pg. 265. Johnson (The Kitchen Musician's
Occasional: Waltz, Air and Misc.), No. 1, 1991; pg. 11. Matthiesen (The Waltz Book), 1992; pg. 47. Phillips (Fiddlecase Tunebook: British Isles), 1989;
pg. 46. Silberberg (Tunes I
Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 149. Fretless
200A, Yankee Ingenuity‑ "Kitchen Junket" (1977). Front Hall 05,
Fennigs All Stars‑ "Saturday Night in the Provinces." Front
Hall 017, Michael and McCreesh‑ "Dance, Like a Wave of the Sea"
(1978. Learned from English fiddler John Harrison). Hepatica 002, Carrie
Crompton ‑ "Angel's Draught." Sampler 8910, Mitzie Collins
& Roxanne Ziegler ‑ "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning."
Song of the Wood 001, Jerry Read Smith ‑ "The Strayaway Child."

STAR WALTZ [4]. The title of a waltz recorded by the Thomasson Brothers for Okeh
Records in 1929, whom Charles Wolfe (1997) believes were the father and uncle
of Benny Thomasson (credited as being one of the founders of modern contest
fiddling).

STAR YGUTEN. Norwegian, Springar. The "first springar of the big ones" of
the traditional repertoire that a hardranger fiddle pupil learns (Hopkins).
See also "Bruremarsj."

STARK MAD.English, Reel. D Dorian. Standard tuning. AABB. The melody appears in
the 1770 music manuscript copybook of Northumbrian musician William Vickers as
“Stark Madd” [sic]. There are no sharps or flats in the key signature in
Vickers’ ms., although that may be a mistake of omission (try either major or
mixolydian mode).

STARLIGHT WALTZ. American, Waltz. USA;
Ohio, Missouri.
G Major. Standard tuning. AB. A “Starlight Waltz” was recorded on 78 RPM in
1932 by Hugh “Hughie” A. MacDonald, sometimes known as “The Polka King.”
MacDonald was born in Lanark, Antigonish County,
Nova Scotia, and was one of the first
fiddlers to record Scottish fiddle music. He died in 1976. Source for notated
version: Alan Ede [Silberberg]. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor
Tavern), 2002; pg. 150. Edison
52425 (78 RPM), 1928, John Baltzell {Baltzell was a native of Mt.
Vernon, Ohio, as was minstrel Dan
Emmett (d. 1904). Emmett returned to the town in 1888, poor, but later taught
Baltzell to play the fiddle}. Rounder 0436, Earl Ball – “Traditional Fiddle
Music of the Ozarks, vol. 2: On the Springfield Plain.”

STARS AND STRIPES
WALTZ. Old‑Time, Waltz. USA,
Missouri. C Major. Standard
tuning. ABB. Howard Marshall informs that this tune is attributed to the
legendary Callaway County, Missouri
waltz fiddler, Vee Latty.“Latty played
in several of the state contests broadcast by WOS-AM live from the dome of the
Capitol in Jefferson City in the
late 1920s.MSOTFA (Missouri State Old
Time Fiddler’s Association) recently brought out a cassette issue of some of
his fiddling from old home recordings made in the 50s.” R.P. Christeson (Old Time Fiddlers Repertory, vol. 1),
1973; pg. 193. Missouri
State Old Time Fiddlers Association 001, Pete McMahan (Mo.)
‑ "OzarkMountain
Waltz.” Voyager VRCD 344, Howard Marshall & John Williams – “Fiddling Missouri”
(1999).

STATEN ISLAND (HORNPIPE). AKA and see “The Arranmore Ferry,” "Burns' Hornpipe," "None So Pretty [2]." Scottish,
English, Irish, American; Hornpipe. USA;
New England, southwestern Pa. Ireland, CountyDonegal. D Major. Standard tuning.
AABB (most versions): AA’BB’ (Harker/Rafferty). “Staten Island Hornpipe” was
first printed in James Aird’sSelection of Scotch, English, Irish, and
Foreign Airs (vol. II, 1782), printed in Glasgow,
identical to version played today. I suspect that the title may have
associations with the large contingent of British troops that were stationed on
Staten Island during the American Revolution, and, since
period army references abound in Aird’s period collection, he may have obtained
it from British military sources. Others have convincingly argued that the
title refers to Isla de los Estados, located just east of Tierra del
Fuego off the coast of Argentina,
a welcome landmark to sailors which marked a successful passage of Cape
Horn and the beginning of the last leg of the journey home. The
island was first claimed by the Dutch in the 16th century and named
after their governing state council, hence Staten Island
(the same rationale for New York’s
Staten Island). There is even a StateIsland in the Atlantic Arctic
region, mapped in 1695, and it is possible (though much more unlikely) the
title derived from it. A version appears in the 1823-26 music manuscript book
of Lincolnshire musician Joshua
Gibbons under the title “Scotch Hornpipe.”

***

“Staten
Island Hornpipe” appears in a few musician’s manuscripts from North
England in the 19th century, though none predate Aird.
It was reintroduced I in traditional circles during the 1960’s “folk revival”
in the United Kingdom
(and America,
for that matter), largely through the playing of English fiddler Dave
Swarbrick. Burchenal (1918)
associates the tune with the New England contra dance
The Haymakers, or The Merry Haymakers, and indeed, in the intervening years the
tune has gained strong associations with American contra dance music, so that
it is often mistaken for an American tune. From contra-dance musicians it has
even been imported into American “old-time” repertoire, and has been even
called an “Appalachian standard,” which it by no means is. Any associations to
the Staten Island ferry (e.g. the ‘c’ natural notes in
the ‘B’ part being likened to the toots of a steam whistle) are spurious.
Bayard (1981) sees a general resemblance to "The Athole Volunteers March"
printed in McDonald's Gesto Collection.

STATUE CLOG. American, Clog. A Major ('A' part) & E Major ('B' part). AABB with
four measure segues in between. The statue clog was a variety show specialty of
the 1870’s and 1880’s, notes Don Meade. It was similar to the pedestal clog, in
that, according to the Streetswing
Dance History Archives, “the dancer would climb upon a marbled or gilded pedestal
(24 inch base) and basically clog or Tap out a routine while posing as
motionless as a statue. Henry E. Dixey who used to whitewash himself, was one
such dancer that was known as a Pedestal dancer, he would be presented to the
stage as a statue on a pedestal in the likes of Apollo or Discobulos. When the
curtains parted he would start clog dancing on the pedestal in a statue like
motion, only moving the feet and legs.” According to Edward B. Marks (They All Sang, 1934, pg. 65), the
clogging derived from the Lancashire style clog dance.

***

Minstrel men had conventions, traditions. All passed through the same
species

of apprenticeship. They went with the minstrels as boys, for eight or
ten dollars a

week. Under the unrelenting
taskmastership of the Gormans, or Fagan himself,

they learned the minstrel dance technique. A man danced clog or
“song-and-dance”

(soft shoe). If clog, he specialized in either Lancashire,
American, or trick.Waltz

clog grew out of American clog, statue out of the Lancashire
style. “Buck and wing,”

says old Tom Barrett, as he reclines on the N.V.A. club mezzanine,
“started all the

trouble. Buck-and-wing is a bastard dance, made of clogs and jigs and
song-and-

dance together, and it makes for faking. In a clog, or a sand jig like
the one Paddy

Hughes did you can spot faking in a minute. Well, now they’ve got no
dancing at

STAY AND HAVE ANOTHER. AKA and see “Fan go fóilleach,” “Stay
for another while.” Irish, Reel. D Major. Standard tuning. AAB. Source for
notated version: set dance music recorded at Na Píobairí Uilleann, late 1980’s [Taylor].
Taylor (Music for the Sets: Blue Book), 1995; pg. 25.

STAY AND TAKE THE
BREIKS WITH THEE. AKA ‑ "Stay and take
your breeches with you." Scottish, Reel. Mentioned by Robert Woodrow in
"Correspondence" (vol. xi, n. 96) that in 1716 it was played by the
pipers of the third of three companies of Argyle's Highlanders which entered Perth
and Dundee. The melody appears in the Drummond Castle Manuscript (in the
possession of the Earl of Ancaster at Drummond Castle), 1734, inscribed "A
Collection of the best Highland Reels written by David Young, W.M. &
Accomptant."

STAY AND TAKE YE
BRANDY POTT. English. England,
Northumberland. One of the "missing tunes" from William Vickers' 1770
Northumbrian dance tune manuscript.

STAY AND TAKE YOUR PETTICOAT WITH YOU. English, Country Dance Tune (2/4
time). G Minor. Standard tuning. AABB. The title appears to be a play on the
earlier “Stay and You’re your Breeches/Breiks with You.” The melody, like many
in Charles and Samuel Thompson’s 1757 collection, first appears in John
Johnson’s 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 7 (London, 1756). Thompson
(Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 1),
1757; No. 89.

STAY HOME, LOVELY MARY. Irish, Air. Anthony Buffery says the air is often played by Seamus
O'Sullivan, who learned the melody over 60 years ago from a farmer named Seán
Ferris, who used to sing it while milking the cows on his land near the
Abbeyfeale road. Printed versions of the song apparently have yet to surface.